Buccaneer secures funding from Meridian

Troubled oil and gas explorer
Buccaneer Energy
, which faces an attempted board spill on Tuesday, has secured Meridian Capital International Fund as a cornerstone investor.

Meridian will invest more than $19 million to acquire as much as 19.99 per cent of Buccaneer at 4¢ a share, Buccaneer said in a statement released late on Friday. The shares will be sold from the shortfall in a $37 million rights issue, which raised $1.06 million.

Through the placement, Meridian, a specialist investor in resources, has secured the right to appoint a director to Buccaneer’s board as long as it holds at least 10 per cent of its shares.

Buccaneer said the transaction means it is now funded for its 12-months work program of up to eight wells to be drilled in its onshore and offshore ventures in Alaska.

The move comes as two Singaporean investors that own 8.69 per cent of Buccaneer are seeking to overturn the board and put in place three oil industry executives with a view to turning around performance at the company and refocusng its strategy.

Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the board changes, which would see the appointment of Dart Energy chairman Nick Davies, Dart director Shaun Scott and Clint Adams, to the board, replacing chairman Alan Broome and directors Curtis Burton, Frank Culberson and Dean Gallegos.

Buccaneer’s shares remain halted from trading pending a further statement from the company about the rest of the shortfall in the rights issue.